Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-03-07
Services in the Sanctua-
ries Yesterday.
THE SERMON AT ST. PAUL'S.
Rev. Chichester at the First Pres
observation-disclosures at Other
Churches.
Yesterday was another beautiful day
and the different churches were well
filled with appreciative congregations.
.THE UNJUST STEWARD"
Rev. w. j. Chic hester,s Discourse
Oh the Parable.

Rev. w. j. Chic II hester,s Discourse
On the Parable. .o.
At the First Presbyterian Church Rev.
w. J. Chichester delivered discourse
ON the parable of "The Unjust Stew
ard" The commendation of the unjust
steward by the Lord was not to be un :
derstood as at all endorsing bis dishon.
est course in managing the estate of his
master, but rather to teach lesson of
prHdence by the example of the steward,
who, when he found that he was about
to bo called to account for his NAL.
administration, sought means to offset
the wrath that was in store for him. He
knew that he had done wrong; that he
had been neglectful and wasteful; that
he had brought public opprobrium upon
himself, and that unless he could make
friends he would be cast out upon the
world without pity and without hope.
He therefore bethought him of a means
of placatlng the people who could be of
most service to him when the dark hour
of the return of his master should arrive.
So he selected from amongst the debt
ors OF the estate the most notable and
influential ones, and released them from
their obligations to the extent of their
standing, 10 this one compounding for so
much per cent. and to that one so much.
By this device he secured the friendship
of men who could be of great value to
him when the day OF account came.
The reverend gentleman argued that the
divine commentator only reached to
the motive of the stewards act in try.
ing to save himself by prudential
foresight; and in this even the worst Of
men would find a lesson by which they
could profit. The insnlcation of the
lesson was to the effect that we should
always try, even out of the most hopeless
characters, to find some redeeming quail.
ity. It was the fashion Of the world to
condemn men wholly for their faults,
never taking into account any redeem
ing virtue they might have. No man
was SO essentially bad that the partial
trait, some characteristic, worthy of
commendation. Here was the unjust
steward, who had violated his trust,
lived lavishly and squandered the prop
erty of his master. But the Lord sought |
out and found in him a jewel--nota very
bright one, but still a jewel-that of |
prudence, and snatching it out of the |
mud of its surroundings drew from it a |
parable which would serve as practical |
lesson for the worldly. Ricnes was
often the result of this virtue of pru.
dence; but riches, honestly acquired by |
careful .husbandry and by worldly fore
sight, was q mere trust, for no man, of
himself, could ever become the rightful
possessor OF farthing. 1t all came
from God, and whilst it was ours to use
properly, it was only ours in the sense ,
that the administration of benevolent |
trust is ours. 1t was commendable and
right that we should try to accumulate
wealth; but it was wrong and pernicious
to accumulate it for selfish uses alone. 1t |
brought with it power to relieve the dis
tress of the unfortunate, to dispense acts
of bounty and charity, and to do good
works with it by aiding the spread of
religion and assisting in all ways pos
sible in betteripg the condition of our
fellow.man. Wealth accumulated by |
the exercise of prudence and in honest
ways, and put to proper uses, was one
of the most commendable ambitions that
could actuate man. The Lord had
placed us here to do the most we could
with the means He had given lis,
and if we failed to carry out His
design and to make the most
of our faculties, we fell short of
the divine design, and would be held re.
sponsible for the waste and misuse Of
our talents. All men have their stand.
ards Of good; with some it may not be
very high, and with some it may be of a
very bOunteous endowment. The man
who comes up in his life to the standard
which belongs to him, whether it be a
low one or an exalted one, accomplishes
the design of his creation. But all men
ought to endeavor, whatever may be
their seeming standard, to reach higher
than they think they can reach. For
even the effort to do so will enable them
to improve upon their standard. By
obeying the precepts of the Divine Mas.
ter and doing good works according to
their power, they will grow in riches OF
grace, and reach standard in the end
far above what they themselves be.
lieved they were capable of. Charity, be.
nevolence, kindness, good works, all these
were bound by no measure of riches, but
could be exercised as we'll by the poorest
as the richest. And to Judge men not
by their worst but by their best acts and
impulses-to give good report instead OF
evil report of our fellows-was redeem.
ing trait that would bring those who act
upon it nearer to the Divine Master.